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DERIVATIVE
ACTIONS
The
Brualdi Law Firm has achieved significant results for plaintiffs in
corporate derivative suits over the years. Among many others, these
cases include:
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In re Bank of New York Corporate
Derivative Litig., No. 99/604465 (Supreme Court
of the State of New York, New York County), a derivative suit
brought on behalf of The Bank of New York to recover for the
substantial injury caused it through defendants allegedly allowing
it to be infiltrated by international criminals who then used it to
launder billions of dollars in stolen money, including stolen
International Monetary Fund monies, out of Russia and Eastern
Europe. The Brualdi Law Firm was one of two plaintiffs’ co-lead
counsel in this action which was settled in 2003 for $26.5 million
in cash paid to The Bank of New York by its officers and directors’
liability insurance carriers, as well as substantial changes being
made to the way The Bank of New York does business. The cash
component of this settlement is believed to be the largest cash
settlement in a “stand alone” derivative case ever achieved in a
United States Court.
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In re Cendant Corp. Deriv. Action
Litig., 232 F. Supp.2d 327 (D.N.J. 2002), wherein
The Brualdi Law Firm was one of plaintiff’s counsel in a derivative
action on behalf of Cendant Corporation brought in the United States
District Court for the District of New Jersey, which settled in 2002
for over $45 million in cash paid to Cendant, as well as substantial
changes being made to the way Cendant does business. The cash
component of this settlement is also believed to be one of the ten
largest cash settlements in derivative cases ever achieved in a
United States Court.
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In re Sotheby’s Holdings, Inc.,
Derivative Litigation, 00 Civ. 1373 (United
States District Court for the Southern District of New York),
wherein The Brualdi Law Firm was one of three counsel in a
derivative action on behalf of Sotheby’s Holdings, Inc. which was
litigated in tandem with an action in the Michigan Courts and
resulted in a multimillion dollar recovery for Sotheby’s Holdings,
Inc., and significant changes to the way Sotheby’s Holdings, Inc.
does business.
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Crandon Capital Partners derivatively
on behalf of Willamette Industries, Inc., No.
00-11-11691 (Circuit Court of the State of Oregon for Multnomah
County), wherein The Brualdi Law Firm was one of three primary
counsel in a derivative action on behalf of Willamette Industries,
Inc., which was responsible in significant part for Willamette
Industries’ directors accepting an offer to purchase the company
from Weyerhaueser Corporation, instead of pursuing an alternate
transaction which would have entailed Willamette Industries
purchasing a division of Georgia Pacific Corp. which had significant
asbestos liabilities and thus would have seriously harmed Willamette
Industries. This action thus conferred a multibillion-dollar
benefit on Willamette Industries and its shareholders.
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Jeffrey Dollens derivatively on
behalf of Westell Technologies, Inc., No.
01-1-5431 (United States District Court for the Northern District of
Illinois), wherein The Brualdi Law Firm was plaintiffs’ counsel in a
derivative action which settled for several million dollars in cash
and substantial changes to the way Westell Technologies does
business).
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Elliot Walsey derivatively on behalf
of Warner-Lambert Co., No. 99-5499 (United States
District Court for the District of New Jersey), wherein The Brualdi
Law Firm was sole counsel in a derivative action litigated in
conjunction with a shareholder class action in Delaware which
resulted in Warner-Lambert Co. accepting an offer to be acquired by
Pfizer, Inc., that was billions of dollars higher than an offer
Warner Lambert had originally accepted from American Home Products
Co.
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Harbor Finance Partners derivatively
on behalf of M&F Worldwide Corp., No. 18592 (Chancery Court, New
Castle County, Delaware), wherein The Brualdi Law Firm was
plaintiff’s counsel in a derivative action on behalf of M&F
Worldwide Corp. and its shareholders against financier Ronald
Perlman and others, and which resulted in a settlement in the middle
of trial which provided for a recovery of over one hundred million
dollars to M&F Worldwide Corp. and its shareholders, a settlement
which drew substantial praise from the Delaware Chancery Court. The
cash component of this settlement is believed to be the largest cash
settlement in a derivative action ever achieved in a United States
Court.
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Harbor Finance Partners derivatively
on behalf of Wachovia Corp., 01-CVS-8036 (General
Court of Justice, Superior Court Division, Guilford County, North
Carolina), wherein The Brualdi Law Firm was plaintiffs’ lead counsel
in a derivative action on behalf of Wachovia Corp. which challenged
an agreement to sell Wachovia Corp. to First Union Corp. as being in
violation of North Carolina Law. The Brualdi Law Firm was
successful in persuading the Court to enter emergency expedited
relief invalidating portions of the agreement Wachovia’s directors
had caused it to enter as violating North Carolina law.
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In re Imclone Systems, Inc.
Shareholder Derivative Litigation, No. 02 Civ.
163 (United States District Court for the Southern District of New
York), wherein The Brualdi Law Firm was one of the primary
plaintiffs’ counsel that prosecuted a consolidated derivative action
on behalf of Imclone Systems, Inc. which recovered millions of
dollars in damages for the harm caused to the company by the alleged
insider trading of its former CEO Dr. Samuel Waksal and well known
designer Martha Stewart.
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In re Hollywood Entertainment
Shareholder Derivative Action, No. CV 04040933
(Circuit Court of Clackamas County, Oregon), wherein The Brualdi Law
Firm was one of Plaintiff’s Co-Lead Counsel that prosecuted a
consolidated derivative and class action on behalf of Hollywood
Entertainment Corporation and its shareholders which directly helped
to ensure that Hollywood’s public shareholders received an
additional $2.50 per share, or approximately $142,500,000 in
increased compensation and entitled Hollywood’s shareholders to
approximately $25 million in additional compensation under certain
circumstances.
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Sakkall derivatively on behalf of
Keyspan Corporation, Index. No. 3903/2005
(Supreme Court of New York), wherein The Brualdi Law Firm was
plaintiffs’ counsel in a derivative action which resulted in
substantial changes in the corporate governance structure of Keyspan.
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Mark Metelman derivatively on behalf
of Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts, Inc.,
ATL-C-43-00 (Superior Court Atlantic County, New Jersey), wherein
The Brualdi Law Firm was one of two lead plaintiffs’ counsel in a
derivative action on behalf of Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts,
Inc. which was settled with substantial praise by the Court and
significant changes to the way Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts,
Inc. treats its shareholders.
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In
addition, The Brualdi Law Firm is currently actively involved in
prosecuting several derivative actions that have received substantial
publicity. These include:
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Corwin v. Kaplan et al.,
No. C-02-2020 (United States District Court for
the Northern District of California), wherein The Brualdi Law Firm
is one of two plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel prosecuting a consolidated
derivative action on behalf of JDS Uniphase Corporation, seeking to
recover from its directors and others for damages they have caused
to the company by allegedly artificially inflating the price of its
stock so that they could personally profit by selling hundreds of
millions of dollars of their own JDS Uniphase stock into the market
they had artificially inflated.
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